This invention relates to an emergency medical monitoring and response system and method, but more specifically, to a wearable device and related support personnel communication equipment to detect an emergency medical condition of diabetic patient and/or to report such condition to a personal caretaker.
Diabetes afflicts a significant portion of the population. The disease affects persons whose bodily functions are unable to maintain a proper blood glucose level without medication, diet or treatment. An insulin injection is common treatment when glucose levels rise when bodily functions fail to produce sufficient insulin while sugar consumption treats low blood glucose levels. If an unsafe blood glucose condition remains untreated—even for a few moments—the patient may lose consciousness, become comatose, suffer irreparable brain damage, and possibly die. As such, persons suffering from diabetes must constantly be monitored and guarded against hypoglycemia or hypoglycemia, which restricts the person's activity and mobility.
Thus, a goal of the present invention is to enable substantially unrestricted mobility of diabetic individual without an undue risk of a lapse in treatment should an emergency condition arise.
It is another goal of the present invention to provide a wearable device that automatically monitors blood glucose levels and to prompt the patient to take appropriate action and, when the patient is unable to perform self-treatment, to transmit an emergency message as to the patient's condition and whereabouts to a personal caretaker and/or emergency medical response center, such as a hospital or an ambulatory service.
It is another goal of the present invention to provide a wearable device, as aforestated, that includes a location detector such as a GPS receiver, and a transceiver, such as a cellular telephone interface, to provide a transmission of the patient's condition, whereabouts, or other information.
It is another goal of the present invention to provide a wearable device that automatically treats a diabetic upon detection of an unsafe blood glucose level should the diabetic fails to implement self-treatment within a predetermined period of time after detection of an unsafe diabetic condition.